Musings about food, cooking, wine and related issues -- eating and shopping locally, reading nutrition and ingredient labels, being mindful of food sources -- with digressions into knitting, books, films, music and even the occasional sociopolitical rant.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

When was the last time you saw a recipe which called for suet?

Well, here's one in case you decided you were missing out.

Green Tomato Mincemeat from the kitchen of Helen Hoffman Babione

1 peck green tomatoes, chopped fine. Drain off juice and measure. Take same amount of hot water [as drained off tomato juice, I think]. (Throw juice away.) Add 2 tbsp salt. Boil a few minutes. Drain. Do this three times. [By "this" I think she means add hot water and salt, boil and drain.] Drain well, and then add following:

1 peck chopped apples

5 pounds brown sugar

1 cup vinegar

1 cup suet (ground)

2 tsp each nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves.

1 pound seeded raisins

1 pound seedless raisins

Boil together until thick. Care while hot.

(Then what?? Put it in a pie? Pour it over the intruders storming the castle? Eat it right out of the pot with the biggest spoon you can find? And can you even buy seeded grapes any more? Or apples measured in pecks? Or a five pound bag of brown sugar? A lot of these recipes are definitely about stocking up. Suet isn't hard to come by. The woodpeckers and squirrels that live -- or at least eat -- in the backyard love it.)